The use of that explosive, also known as 'Mother of Satan' for its highly volatile nature, suggests a disturbing possibility: The Islamic State relies on bomb-making materials that are widely available and hard to detect.

Show of force at Brussels Midi station. This is where Eurostar trains leave from & at rush hour lots of people here pic.twitter.com/TpWjG5aECC

Terrorism analysts and experts in TATP-based explosives say the effectiveness of the bombs used in the Paris and Brussels attacks, and the seeming lack of any bomb-making accidents beforehand, such as an unintended fire, could point to a one or more well-trained bomb-makers.

A Washington Post report on Wednesday, citing unnamed intelligence sources, said one of the suicide bombers who died during the Brussels airport attack was also the bomb-maker connected to the Paris attacks in November.

Scriven King, who served for a decade with the Air Force’s law enforcement arm and now works as a security consultant, said the effectiveness of the bombs used in Paris and Brussels was noteworthy, since TATP can be tricky to work with.

“We have almost a 99% success rate with the devices they set so far," said King.

“We’re probably looking at a bomb-maker [who is] able to create these devices reliably."

Typically, bomb-makers don't carry out attacks themselves, since their value to a terror organization such as ISIS is too great.

While TATP is relatively easy to manufacture, using ingredients such as nail polish remover and hydrogen peroxide, it is extremely difficult to handle, as it can blow up during construction of bombs or suicide vests.

According to Belgian authorities, 15 kilograms, or 33 pounds, of TATP were found at a house where the suspects are known to have stayed.

A K-9 unit member and a sniffer dog walks past passengers at Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Pasay, south of Manila, Philippines Wednesday, March 23, 2016.

Image: Aaron Favila/AP

On Tuesday, Belgian investigators were led to the house by a cab driver who came forward to tell authorities that he drove the suspects from the house to the airport where one of the two attacks took place.

King said 15 kilograms is an unusually large amount of TATP, a compound which has the consistency of cocaine.

"It’s extremely rare that you would find such a quantity of explosive unused," he said.

King believes the Paris and Brussels attacks are connected to the same bomb-maker, and the same terrorist cell that was compromised when Salah Abdeslam was arrested on March 18.

“This attack almost certainly centers around Salah being arrested,” King said, suggesting the Brussels attackers may have moved up their plot because they thought Salah was going to "turn" and reveal the identities of his co-conspirators.

TATP has been used in other high-profile plots, such as the attempt in 2001 by "shoe bomber" Richard Reid to detonate a TATP-based bomb on board a flight from Paris to Miami. A flight attendant spotted him attempting to detonate the shoe bomb aboard the Boeing 767.

More recently, TATP is thought to have been used in the soda can bomb that brought down a Russian passenger jet over the Sinai Peninsula in October.

“I agree with the master bomb maker theory”

A facility to construct TATP or other peroxide-based explosives may be hiding in plain sight, in an apartment, hotel room or another seemingly innocuous location, not unlike a meth lab.

Jimmie Oxley, a chemistry professor at the University of Rhode Island and one of the leading authorities on TATP, told Mashable that it's not surprising that ISIS has turned to this compound to fuel its deadly attacks.

Forensic officers work in front of the damaged Zaventem Airport terminal in Brussels on Wednesday, March 23, 2016.

Image: Geert Vanden Wijngaert/AP

Unlike war zones where higher grade explosives might be available, TATP is a logical choice for terrorists, given its wide availability.

However, TATP is both volatile, meaning it goes into a gas phase easily, and sensitive to heat and other forces.

“It is easy to set off,” said Oxley. “People that aren’t familiar with how to handle it can blow themselves up,” she said.

Accidental detonations are usually how bomb-makers are found. For example, an elaborate plot to blow up multiple planes over the Pacific in 1995 was discovered when the bomb-maker caused a fire in his home, Oxley said.

Fortunately, TATP is detectable by security forces, since it gives off an odor that explosives-trained dogs can pick up on.

Oxley and her colleagues at the URI work with security forces around the world to train their dogs to detect TATP.

A few months ago, she conducted training for the agency that runs the New York City subway system, which has long been considered a top terrorist target.

Mashable
is a global, multi-platform media and entertainment company. Powered by its own proprietary technology, Mashable is the go-to source for tech, digital culture and entertainment content for its dedicated and influential audience around the globe.